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Effects of Early Pension Withdrawal on Pre-Retirement Labour Supply: Evidence from Chile during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Yoshimichi Murakami

    (Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, JAPAN)

  • Aya Noritake

    (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University, JAPAN)

Abstract

Although the defined contribution pension system in Chile had not permitted pension withdrawals before retirement age, the Chilean Congress approved laws allowing early withdrawals as an economic support measure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study empirically analysed the effects of mainly the third early pension withdrawal on pre-retirement labour supply using data from a nationally and regionally representative household survey for 2022. To address potential endogeneity from self-selection into pension withdrawals, we applied inverse probability weighting based on propensity score estimation. The results showed that individuals who withdrew their pensions worked longer hours and had a higher probability of employment. These effects were more pronounced among women, while they were statistically insignificant for men. The findings were robust to household-level analysis, which additionally showed that pension savings withdrawn by women were more likely to be used for home repairs. Therefore, the early pension withdrawal, rather than reducing labour supply through the income effect, encouraged female labour supply, possibly due to improved remote-work conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoshimichi Murakami & Aya Noritake, 2026. "Effects of Early Pension Withdrawal on Pre-Retirement Labour Supply: Evidence from Chile during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Discussion Paper Series DP2026-10, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
  • Handle: RePEc:kob:dpaper:dp2026-10
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlos Madeira, 2024. "The effect of Covid pension withdrawals and the Universal Guaranteed Pension on the income of future retirees in Chile," BIS Working Papers 1176, Bank for International Settlements.
    2. Matias Busso & John DiNardo & Justin McCrary, 2014. "New Evidence on the Finite Sample Properties of Propensity Score Reweighting and Matching Estimators," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(5), pages 885-897, December.
    3. Byron J. Idrovo-Aguirre & Javier E. Contreras-Reyes, 2021. "Monetary Fiscal Contributions to Households and Pension Fund Withdrawals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Approximation of Their Impact on Construction Labor Supply in Chile," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-10, November.
    4. López, Fernando & Rosas, Guillermo, 2022. "COVID-19 and attitudes towards early withdrawal of pension funds: The role of trust and political ideology," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    5. Alfredo Schclarek & Mauricio Caggia, 2017. "Household saving and labor informality: the case of Chile," Journal Econom a Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 20(3), pages 052-080, December.
    6. Miguel Lorca, 2021. "Effects of COVID‐19 early release of pension funds: The case of Chile," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 88(4), pages 903-936, December.
    7. Madeira, Carlos, 2022. "The impact of the Chilean pension withdrawals during the Covid pandemic on the future savings rate," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. Ridgeway Greg & Kovalchik Stephanie Ann & Griffin Beth Ann & Kabeto Mohammed U., 2015. "Propensity Score Analysis with Survey Weighted Data," Journal of Causal Inference, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 237-249, September.
    9. Madeira, Carlos, 2024. "The effect of the Covid pension withdrawals and the Universal Guaranteed Pension on the income of the future retirees and its fiscal costs," Latin American Journal of Central Banking (previously Monetaria), Elsevier, vol. 5(3).
    10. Yoshimichi Murakami & Tomokazu Nomura, 2023. "Decline in values of degrees and recent evolution of wage inequality: Evidence from Chile," Estudios de Economia, University of Chile, Department of Economics, vol. 50(1 Year 20), pages 55-132, June.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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